BINOS WERE HALF BAKED.

Byline: DAVID GRAY 

PETERHEAD ..........3 STIRLING A ..........2

SEETHING Stirling boss Allan Moore gave his league leaders a rollicking and ordered them to cut out the slack defending.

Albion surrendered three firsthalf goals to Peterhead before they finally got in gear.

Moore's men fought back and Blues boss Neale Cooper admitted he was relieved to hold on for the win.

But that wasn't enough for angry Moore who hit out: "The players have had a rollicking in there.

"We lost that game in the first half with poor defending from a corner and a throw-in.

"My team will always play right to the end and we've battered every team we've faced. But the damage was done in the first half.

"That's the sixth game in a row where we've gone behind.

"The players must learn they can't keep pulling it out of the hat."

The Binos threatened twice in the first five minutes - a David McKenna header that slipped wide then Paul Murphy's shot from 20 yards that was well saved by keeper Jon Bateman.

Peterhead eased into the game though and in 15 minutes Neil McVitie's header was blocked for a corner.

Graeme Sharp's delivery found Callum Macdonald who powered a header into the net.

And Peterhead stretched their lead on the half hour. Sharp's snapshot smashed off a post and John Stewart turned home the rebound.

Hero Stirling pulled a goal back when Martin Grehan headed David O'Brien's cross past diving Bateman in 37 minutes.

But Blues hit back just two minutes later - Dave Ross set up Nicky Clark to sidefoot home his first club goal.

Moore's rollicking fired up the Binos and Stewart Devine forced another decent save from Bateman.

Next Davie Donald was the hero for the home side when he cleared Grehan's shot off the line on the hour.

John O'Neill saw Bateman save his close-range shot a few moments later, and McKenna should have connected with a cross from the right as his side threw everything forward.

Albion finally narrowed the gap in 65 minutes. Devine worked his way through the Peterhead defence before placing a shot to beat Bateman.

In their desperate fight for a point Binos struck the bar before Donald booted clear.

Peterhead thought they'd extended their lead but Macdonald's header into the net was chopped off for a push.

And Stewart had a good sight of goal but fired wide. The Binos had Ross Forsyth sent off for his second yellow after a crunching tackle on teenager Peter Bruce.

In injury time Stewart attempted an audacious 65-yard lob that dropped wide and Devine and O'Neil were booked after tempers flared.

Peterhead boss Cooper was pleased to see his side take the points but admitted they rode their luck.

He said: "I am shattered after watching that, so much was going on.

"We've battered teams this season without getting a result but we rode our luck and took the points.

"It's a big win. If Stirling had won they'd have gone 12 points ahead of us - too large a gap to pull back, even at this stage of the season."

CAPTION(S):

Rising star: Callum Macdonald rises to head in the home side's opener Head honcho: John Stewart hails Callum Macdonald after the Peterhead captain nodded his side the lead from a corner